that is your history forever. forever. "first look" is up next. the brass ring -- mitt romney picks up enough delegates to secure the republican presidential nomination. tipping point? the u.s. and other nations expel syrian diplomats in response to a brutal massacre. and, pretty in pink -- a 12-carat pink diamond, the largest of its kind sold at auction, shatters expectations, those stories and more, straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we're going to begin with a long, hard battle. after coming up short four years

ago, mitt romney has clinched the republican presidential nomination with a projected win in texas. rather than being able to focus on the triumph, the romney big day was overshadowed by donald trump. tracie potts has more. >> reporter: trump has been so close to the birther controversy, now the birthers are questioning whether mitt romney was born in the u.s. as romney declares victory in a long and bitter primary race. >> nbc news is projecting that mitt romney is the winner in texas. >> reporter: mitt romney has 30 more delegates than he needs to win the republican nomination. in las vegas last night he slammed president obama. >> he's been a big disappointment, hasn't he? sometimes i don't think he understand what is it takes to help people. >> reporter: analysts say romney is testing his message to undecided voters. >> independent voters aren't making up their minds right now. we've seen in past campaigns, they make up their minds very

late. >> reporter: in las vegas, romney teamed up with donald trump who told supporters that the u.s. is borrowing too much money from china. they looked at us, they laughed at us, they think we're stupid. >> reporter: romney is taking heat for associating with trump, who is questioning whether president obama was born in the u.s. the obama campaign called trump a charletan and said romney shows a lack of moral leadership by not telling trump to knock it off. >> far be it from me to suggest to the donald what he should do. >> reporter: romney has released his own michigan birth certificate to "reuters," after birthers suggested he was born in mexico. it turns out his dad was born in mexico. but romney's birth certificate clearly shows that he was born in detroit. lynn? >> tracy mcgrady, thanks. in an unusual move over the recent massacres, more than 100

people, western nations, including the u.s., have expelled syrian diplomats, more than a dozen nations are condemning the attack on civilians. it was one of the deadliest attacks in the 15-month-old uprising against the syrian government, which has left thousands dead. syrian president, bashar al assad. who met with united nations envoy kofi annan yesterday, showed no sign of yielding to international pressure, despite its opposition to assad's rule, the united states said yesterday it does not believe it's appropriate to help arm rebels in sirria. the death toll in the earthquake in italy has riz ton 16. more than 200 people were injured in the 5.8-magnitude quake yesterday. thousands are homeless due to damage and inhabitable buildings. aftershocks have many terrified residents sleeping in cars or tents. this is the second recent fatal quake in the region with seven people killed just ten days ago.

the italian government says 50 million euros will be provided for disaster relief and reconstruction. well, officials in iran have confirmed its computers have been hit by a massive cyberattack. a russian security software company claims that it discovered the data-collecting virus, called flame. the firm claims flame has been gathering data, recording conversations, and monitoring online chat sessions in iran and other middle eastern countries for at least five years. experts believe the makers of a virus that attacked iran's nuclear centrifuges two years ago are also behind this one. yesterday, israel's vice premier did little to deflect suspicious suspicions of possible involvement. well here is your "first look" at other news going on around america today. in oklahoma, severe thunderstorms brought hail crashing down and splashing right into a man's swimming

pool. the force if that hail also shattered a skylight inside the house. the storms knocked out power to 60,000 people. in florida, video shows an 11-year-old girl falling from a rock climbing wall. now she suffered a concussion, those images also show the girl just before hitting the ground, 20 feet below. it happened outside the miami marlin stadium. the family believe as cable was not properly attached. a new jersey, a nightmare for june brides-to-be. after their bridal store went out of business with little warning. angry women lined up, trying to get their dresses during one of the busiest times of the year for weddings. in some cases, the women were able to get their gowns. but one woman says the store kept her deposit and will not hand over her dress. and finally, a utah state university team of engineering students have developed a device that could allow military special forces to scale walls

without any ropes or hooks. very mission impossible there, the machine uses high-powered vacuums hooked up to batteries. the students took part in the air force competition and the only ones to create a working device. now for a look at the national weather, we check in with meteorologist todd santos, he has the weather channel forecast for us. in oklahoma city a lot of power lines knocked over. >> a big issue when you get a lot of hail over large areas. we got photos in from the storm riders, if you've ever seen that show on the weather channel. some areas, some very large hail. this one is coming in from those guys as well. this is actually their back window. so don't feel too bad for them. they are professional storm chasers, you do get the idea we had a lot of reports yesterday of severe hail. some of them upwards of five inches, the largest one i saw out of piedmont, oklahoma. we saw a number of reports up into the northeast. actually over 400. so a few additional hail and

wind reports, where some of those were clustered, we'll see a chance for some thunderstorms in the northeast. the better chances will linger here across portions of oklahoma, south-central kansas and northeastern texas. there's a look at it this morning with the active radar this hour, the frontal boundary pushing towards the east coast, that's slowed down across the area. that's what may help to give us at least some of the showers around new york city, potentially boston. not a washout by any stretch. but under mostly cloudy skies, could touch off some showers. in the west, we'll be looking at better chances for severe weather, especially central kansas. and especially in the afternoon. so make sure you have a way to get warnings. hail and winds are threats from some of the storms. cannot rule out tornadoes across the area. get up towards western portions of nebraska and the dakotas, could see some potential severe weather there. this morning we have one severe thunderstorm watch that includes the dallas-fort worth area, goes until 8:00 local time. some storms falling apart.

but a few hail-producing storms, one along the i-35 corridor. closer up towards the northern texas border. something to keep in mind there. of course, had to mention tropical depression beryl, still talking about a 30-mile-per-hour storm, as it that moves off towards the north-northeast, it's starting to accelerate a little bit. you see some of the heavier showers pushing into eastern portions of north carolina. still the i-95 corridor, messy travelwise through eastern north carolina. a quick look at the track. the system, latest update just came in, that was 35 miles per hour now. notice by tomorrow afternoon or later this afternoon into tomorrow, we'll be talking about a tropical storm off the outer banks of north carolina and that bears watching for many coastal residents. coming up, wall street likes the idea of greece staying put. how low will facebook go? and has space research yielded a new fountain of youth? spurs put on a clinic, the texas rangers sign an ace and

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. here's some top stories making news this morning. police in canada say a severed human foot was mailed to the headquarters of canadian prime minister, stephen harper's conservative party in ottawa. and police in montreal discovered a human torso in a suitcase. authorities trying to determine if the discoveries are lynched. more than 150 afghan girls were hospitalized yesterday after being poisoned by an unidentified toxic powder sprayed in the air at school. the third such attack that police blame on conservative radicals who oppose the education of women and girls. grammy award-winning folk and country singer doc watson has died at age 89.

the blind guitarist was awarded the national medal of arts in 1997. planet earth has had two recent close calls with asteroids, including a 16-foot-long rock that passed by yesterday. it went undetected until another asteroid flew by at a distance of 32,000 miles. and the famous martian pink diamond has sold at auction for more than $17 million. far more than expected. named to celebrate the first u.s. satellite mission to mars, the jewel is the biggest pink diamond ever to appear at auction. well last night on the rachel maddow show, former state department spokesman pj crowley talked about the syrian massacre. he told rachel that he thinks president bashar al assad hopes to use nonuniformed military personnel to carry out the

killings. >> ostensibly syria has agreed to six-point plan proposed by u.n. secretary-general kofi annan, now envoy. so by shifting the burden of the military now to these nonuniformed personnel, he's able to listen to kofi annan say, that syria's reached a tipping point and not admit that he's the one that's brought syria to this tipping point where you could see very significant sectarian violence develop. what is true of syria is also true of iran. iran has for the moment in its own suppression of its own people. held on to the loyalty of the you know, the iranian security forces and so far, notwithstanding some defections to the free syrian army, assad has held on for now. "lean forward" with the rachel maddow show, right here at 9:00 p.m. eastern os msnbc. now a "first look" at wall

street. the dow opens at 12,580, after jumping 125 points yesterday. the s&p up 14, and the nasdaq gained 33. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei was down 23 points. in hong kong, the hang seng tumbled 365. stocks bounced back tuesday, despite europe's ongoing debt crisis. signs greece may stay in the eurozone after next month's elections sparked buying on wall street, helping to push the dow and the s&p higher. but analysts warn of more market swings ahead. a downgrade of spain's credit undermined gold's safe appeal. the gold settled at $1548 an ounce. spain's downgrade took a toll on oil, which dropped about 2%, to settle at around $90 a barrel. news that home prices fell in march, but not as much as previous months stirred hopes of recovery in the struggling housing market. that report was offset by an

unexpectedly lower consumer confidence reading in may. embattled facebook fell to a new low, below $29, as nervous investors bet against the troubled ipo. two dozen african-american pilots are suing the parent company of united airlines, claiming they were passed over for promotions due to their raise. blackberry maker research in motion plunged 13% after warning of major earnings loss and significant job cuts. meanwhile, samsung launched the latest version of its galaxy smartphone in europe. it boasts a screen display that tracks the user's eye to dim or turn off at the appropriate time. and a super juice called as-10 reportedly created to reduce astronauts' exposure to solar radiation in space. apparently works wonders on reducing wrinkles and age spots here on earth. but there is a catch -- there always is. at $500 for a four-month supply,

you may want to stick to the spf 50, that may be your best bet. nnchts health news, federal health officials are warning about fake versions of the drug, aderol. the food and drug administration report says that phony adderol should be considered unsafe, ineffective and potentially harmful. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. coming up, serena swoon, albert is up to full spood and the twins rely on the long ball and the san antonio spurs make a dramatic statement in game two of the nba western finals against the thunder. your "first look" in sports is straight ahead. [ barking ] i'm your dog,

holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] mayhem is everywhere. so get an allstate agent. are you in good hands? [ dennis ] mayhem is everywhere. put me at 5 timesd out my greater risk of a stroke, my first thoughts were about my wife, and my family. i have the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem.

i was taking warfarin, but my doctor put me on pradaxa instead to reduce my risk of stroke. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) reduced stroke risk 35% better than warfarin. and unlike warfarin, with pradaxa, there's no need for regular blood tests. that's really important to me. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. having afib not caused by a heart valve problem increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk with pradaxa.

to your kids' wet skin. neutrogena® wet skin kids. ordinary sunblock drips and whitens. neutrogena® wet skin cuts through water. forms a broad spectrum barrier for full strength sun protection. wet skin. neutrogena®. welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. in sports, last night the spurs made nba history, as they continued their perfect run in the playoffs. here's nbc's mario solis. the spurs proved once again they are simply on another level. game two in san antonio, sit back and watch tony parker do his thing. drive, spins and finishes with the teardrop, the flying frenchman making the thunder dizzy. the spurs up 11. if finesse is not your thing, how about muscle? tim duncan throws it down with authorities. he had 11 but blew the roof off the building with that to the third, when spurs play like this, they can't be stopped.

manu ginobili, behind back to a wide-open parker. he's not going to miss that. finishing with 34. spurs win their 20th in a row, and make it look easy. 120-111. to tennis, serena williams lost at the french open, the very first time she's ever lost the opening round of a grand slam tournament. baseball, the texas rangers signed roy os wall street walt deal. the phils could have used oswalt against the mets, i don't think anyone with stop scott hairston right now. three games, three home run, mets win 6-3. the cards molena is hot, he has 12 rbis in the last five games, one man does not make a team. braves win 5-4. another great individual effort, this one by baltimore's adam jones, ripping a pair of home runs, but not enough. blue jays knock off the first-place o's 8-6. angels and yanks, albert

pujols has officially found his stroke. seventh home run in the last 14 games, angels win it 5-1. the biggest home run of the night coming from minnesota, a's up two in the ninth, when josh willingham ends it a walkoff three-run bomb, the twinkies win it 3-. your first look at sports, i'm mario solis. now another check of the weather with meteorologist todd santos. >> still dealing with some of the showers here and there. some of us may be dodging them across the northeast. we'll show you where the front is hanging across the northeast. in through boston, hartford, new york. maybe an isolated thunderstorm, no the a complete washout, but with the low cloud ceilings, may be enough to provide some airline delays throughout your day today for your wednesday. otherwise, temperatures right now, a little bit cooler than we had yesterday. some of this of course, rain-cooled air with temperatures in the 60s.

up towards chicago, much cooler than the last couple of mornings, 50s showing up on the map. i want to give you the idea we have some areas that will be cooler. 70s, 80s, well up into portions of the northeast and even the eastern great lakes. you see a lot of areas struggling, through central, northern ohio to get up into the 70s. up towards chicago, 66 degrees, now you put the temperatures with the actual forecast out 0 there, you're looking at 75 in kansas city, some of the best chances for thunderstorms, central oklahoma, south-central kansas and northeast texas, make sure you have a way to get your warnings. continue to follow tropical depression beryl off the southeast coast could become a tropical storm later today or tomorrow. so folks in north carolina want to keep a close eye on the forecast. well coming up, what has rihanna's friends a little worried. and something jessica biehl does badly. plus -- age sure hasn't stopped 64-year-old steven tyler when it comes to living to excess.

this may not shock you. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. i should be arrested for crimes against potted plant-kind. we're armed, and inexperienced. people call me an over-waterer. [ female announcer ] with miracle-gro, you don't have to be a great gardener to have a green thumb. every miracle-gro product helps your garden grow bigger, more beautiful flowers and bountiful vegetables. guaranteed. so even if... i have all these tools, and i have no idea how to use them. [ female announcer ] everyone grows with miracle-gro. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

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welcome back to "first look," time for some entertainment news, well reports say kanye west and kim kardashian's relationship has hit a few bumps. english tabloids say she is jealous of rihanna. and she's ban her from west's dressing room during his shows. also, he's trying to reinvent and liven her up in the fashion sense. he thinks she's playing it a little too safe. i don't know where he's getting that. that's ha kanye says. the "chicago sun-times" reports

rihanna's friends are a little concerned about last weekend's hard party in miami with her new nba boyfriend, bad boy jr smith. and the hatfields and mccoys had just under 14 million viewers, all-time record for a nonsports show on basic cable. i haven't even heard of this show. jessica biehl tells "gala" magazine that marriage to justin timberlake will not change anything. but there's one thing she does want to change, her cooking. she calls it a total disaster. and finally, "american idol" judge steven tyler owns a new car. the hennessy gtspyder. with a price of $1.1 million bucks. it goes 0 to 260.

>> it's a convertible roadster. i'm lynn berry, this is "first look" on msnbc. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. >> just this morning, russia announces it will block any effort by the u.n. to intervene in syria. saying it would be quote premature. this, as the united states and a dozen allies expel syrian diplomats. the question is why are russia and china continuing to defend syria, even after the latest massacre there? we will have a live report. it is official -- mitt romney is the republican nominee for president. but that occasion overshadowed by his spending the evening in vegas, with donald j. trump. the question is, what is in it for mitt to stand side by side with the donald. and a huge upset at the french open as fifth-seeded serena williams bounced in the first round by the 111th